Grown Men
(1 Corinthians 16:13-14)
Sermon Notes
1 Corinthians 16:13–14 (ESV)
13Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
14Let all that you do be done in love.
Paul was writing from Ephesus to the church at Corinth to combat division in the church and answer the questions related to:
- Quarrelling Church members (1:11)
- A case of incest (5:1)
- Lawsuits (6:1-11)
- Christian marriage (7:1-16),
- Food sacrificed to idols (8:1-13),
- Spiritual gifts (12:1-31),
- Procedure for collecting money for the relief of the Jerusalem church (16:1-14)
(Life Application New Testament Commentary)
The church at Ephesus was extremely divided. So Paul said:
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WAKE UP
Be watchful.
- Watch (gregoreo) – be awake, continuously ready, and be alert.
- Need to discern what’s going on.
WAKE UP FROM:
COMPLACENCY – marked by self-satisfaction, especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.
- Don’t be a comfortable Christian
MEDIOCRITY – average, but it could be better.
INDIFFERENCE – lack of interest
1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
“The only reason the devil shows up in any given situation is to kill, steal and destroy.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
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STAND UP
Stand firm in the faith.
- Stand fast (steko) – to hold one’s ground, maintain a position, be steadfast or upright.
- In the faith (pistis) – the content of what is believed about the good news of Jesus.
- In view of the Corinthians’ susceptibility to false teachers (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3) the exhortation to stand firm in the faith was a timely reminder (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1,58).
1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 (ESV)
15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
1 Peter 5:8–9 (NLT)
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
“Be very sure your anchor holds.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
Don’t let the enemy wreak havoc in your house.
Put some fight back in you!
GROW UP
Act like men
Act courageously in the face of danger.
Stand against false teaching; deal with sin in the congregation; straighten out other problems.
Be strong.
Become more powerful than average.
Come to a place of maturity. Act like the adult.
“Everybody can’t be children in the house.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
Ephesians 3:16–17 (NKJV)
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
“If you are not strong in the inside, you cannot be brave on the outside.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
“You have the ability to be used by God if you would simply grow up.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
The level of my consecration determines the level of my strength.
The enemy will do whatever possible to keep you out of the word.
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DO SOMETHING
14Let all that you do be done in love.
The implication is that you are doing something.
TAKE ACTION – Faith that does not act is DEAD.
Let all you do be done with love.
Without love, my efforts profit me nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:3 (NKJV)
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
LOVE IS NOT WEAK.
LOVE IS NOT WIMPY.
LOVE IS NOT VOID OF TRUTH.
We are to speak the truth “IN LOVE.”
I MUST HAVE A LOVE FOR GOD AND A LOVE FOR PEOPLE
- Do you love the Lord?
- Do you love people?
